Ferguson police chief resigns following DOJ report

The chief of police in Ferguson, Mo., has resigned in the aftermath of a searing Department of Justice (DoJ) report. The city’s embattled law enforcement agency has been scrutinized since an officer shot an unarmed black teen last summer.

“It is with profound
sadness that I am announcing I am stepping down from my position
as chief of police ,” Tom Jackson said in a statement
published first by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

“My resignation will be effective March 19, 2015 to provide
for an orderly transition of command. It has been an honor and a
privilege to serve this great city and to serve with all of you.
I will continue to assist the city in any way I can in my
capacity as private citizen,” Jackson wrote, according to a
letter published by the paper on Wednesday afternoon.

Meanwhile, the City of Ferguson issued a statement calling
Jackson's resignation "a mutual decision," adding that
he will receive severance pay for one year as well as health
insurance. Once he officially steps down on March 19, Lt. Col. Al
Eikhoff will take over as acting police chief.

In a press conference, Ferguson Mayor James Knowles III said the
severance pay amounts to "roughly $100,000," and that
the city will conduct a nationwide search for a new police chief.
He said Jackson's decision to resign was made in the best
interest of the city.

Asked if all the recent resignations are an admission that
the Justice Department
report was valid and that the problems described in it were real,
Knowles reiterated that Jackson's resignation was a mutual
decision and officials have not admitted wrongdoing.

Asked about the possibility that leadership of the police force
would be moved beyond the city's control – Attorney General Eric
Holder recently said dismantling the agency is possible, if
necessary – Knowles said city is committed to keeping the
department under its control.

"The City of
Ferguson looks to become an example of how a community can move
forward in the face of adversity," he said, adding that he
is committed to addressing the concerns laid out in the DoJ
report

News of Jackson’s resignation surfaced only a day after the
Ferguson City Council unanimously agreed to terminate John Shaw
from the position of city manager, adding yet another change-up
to the St. Louis suburb in the wake of last week’s DoJ report.

According to the 105-page report, federal investigators uncovered
“a pattern or practice of unlawful conduct within the
Ferguson Police Department that violates the First, Fourth and
Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, and
federal statutory law.”

United States Attorney General Eric Holder said he was
“shocked” by the probe’s findings after its release
became public, and told reporters that he would be willing to
dismantle the city’s police force if necessary. In the aftermath
of the report’s publication, at least one member of the Ferguson
Police Department was fired and two others resigned.

The DoJ report, released on Wednesday last week, was the
culmination of a six-month probe spawned by the August 2014
shooting death of Michael Brown, an unarmed African-American
teenager who was killed by a member of the Ferguson Police
Department, Darren Wilson.

“Ferguson’s police and municipal court practices have sown
deep mistrust between parts of the community and the police
department, undermining law enforcement legitimacy among African
Americans in particular,” the investigation determined.

Also last week, the Justice Dept. said an investigation into the
Brown killing prompted authorities to decline to charge Wilson
with any federal civil rights violations.

The Aug. 2014 shooting death initially prompted local, then
national, protests which were amplified by similar incidents in
recent months in which officers of the law were accused of using
unnecessary force on African-Americans – especially in cases
where the victim is reported to have been injured or killed while
unarmed.

“I’m going to stay and see this through,” Chief Jackson
said in October as demonstrations intensified. “I report to
the city manager, period. And as long as he and the council
support me, then I intend to stay.”

The City Council of Ferguson voted 7-0 on Tuesday evening to
terminate Shaw from the position of city manager, and a
nationwide hunt for a replacement is reportedly underway.